How To Trouble with W2

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Skiller1nc

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Jun 27, 2016
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W2 help

First time working with w2. I've worked with 1089-84, 1095, 15n20 before and had no issues hardening any of them. I'm using a pid controlled forge.

I'm using Aldo's w2, I normalized at 1650, 1550, 1450 then did a 10 minute hold at 1200. Let cool and clayed the spine. Then went to harden. Heated slowly to 1450, 7 minute ramp up to temp and 5 minute hold. Then interrupted quench for 5 seconds into warm brine then into warm canola oil until cool enough to hold with bare hands. Skated a file like glass. Put it immediately in a pre-warmed oven @325 (also pid controlled) for a 1 hour snap temper. Began to grind blade, got it to about 1.5 thou at edge and notice the blade was very bent. Assumed it warped during grinding. I just bent it back with my hand and noticed it didn't spring at all, it just bent and stayed however I manipulated it. Went back and file checked now that there was no decarb and the blade still skates a file like it's at lease 60 rc. However I put the blade in vice and was able to bend it 180 degrees (blade parallel to tang). So it's obviously not hard even though it's skating a file. I bent it back and forth a few times and it never did crack at all.

Anyone have any insight that could help me.
 
You did do a differentially hardened blade...
That's kinda the trademark of a hard edge and a soft spine. It'll bend, but not break (ideally at least).

Of course I'm not a W2 expert or anything, but I've got a katana that is all kinds of wavy because I've chopped up things I shouldn't have. Bent, didn't break or chip.
 
But shouldn't there be some spring to the blade or no?
Edit: if this is the case, how do you keep blades that are as thick/thin as chef knives from bending and not springing back to true?
 
Last edited:
Skiller1nc said:
But shouldn't there be some spring to the blade or no?
Edit: if this is the case, how do you keep blades that are as thick/thin as chef knives from bending and not springing back to true?
Click to expand...

You should etch the blade and post a picture. It would help understand why or how you got an auto hamon. It probably needed a bit more time at temperature.
 
Skiller1nc said:
But shouldn't there be some spring to the blade or no?
Edit: if this is the case, how do you keep blades that are as thick/thin as chef knives from bending and not springing back to true?
Click to expand...
How much of blade you clayed ?
 
Skiller1nc said:
.

How far down do you normally clay, I had it ran just under halfway and about .125" thick on each side
Click to expand...
Half the Blade is ok, but your clay is way too thick. The mass of clay will prevent the steel from hardening up to the clay. Should be 1/16" thick at the most.

Looking at your pics, you have very little hardened steel in the blade. Hamon way too close to the edge.
 
ok, so I've been reading a lot about the lastest batch of w2 from Aldo and doing some troubleshooting. I hardened a few unclayed pieces first and was able to harden them. I think the problem was my normalizing temps. Rather than 1650,1550,1450 normalizing, I did 2000 with a soak followed by 3x 1500 with 10-minute soaks. Austenized at 1470-75 with a 5 minute soak.
The coupons hardened and I then clayed (thinner like you said Don) a blade and hardened it, it hardened with a nice hamon halfway up, traversing the whole blade.
 
When you clay a spine your preventing it from hardening. This means it’s soft steel and soft steel is not a spring. It will bend and stay bent. If you want I g it to spring back then you harden the entire blade and draw the hardness out of the spine with a torch and keep the edge in water. This way your removing some of the hardness but not all of it.
 
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